Thursday, February 25, 2016

This afternoon, I took my Digital Photo II class from Hamline to the Weinstein Gallery in south Minneapolis. I hadn't been there to see a show for a while, and this show was packed with big names. So we had to check it out. Here are a few snaps of our visit:

Looking at some lesser-known Annie Leibovitz photos.(These aren't the style of images that I picture when I think of her work.)

Some classic Mole and Thomas images on the left, and some quirky Elliott Erwitt's on the right.

Mapplethorpe.

Soth.

I've been a fan of Vera Lutter for many years, so it was great to see some of herone-of-a-kind pinhole paper negatives. My class was intrigued.

Edward Burtynsky had some beautiful images that entranced my students.

Caption: "Brought in some old photos to share in my class today. The one on the right was a big hitbecause both of these men have their head clamped in with a Brady Stand, and the standing manhas eerie painted pupils because he must have blinked during the long exposure."

And then I added a comment with more info: "Note the base of a stand behind the standing man, and you can see something between the legs of the guy who's sitting. Their heads are clamped in the back so they don't move during the exposure."

We had just talked during the class before about early film exposures and the long exposure time they needed. Oh, and there's a dead baby photo in the lower left. Morbid. But not uncommon.

Monday, February 15, 2016

My 2 young boys were at my in-laws for the weekend, so I got some work done in my studio. I first did a lot of cleaning, sorting, and purging, and then I framed up 5 pieces for an upcoming exhibition at the Soeffker Gallery at Hamline University. Here's what the last few days of childless work looked like:

Picking up mat board at Tradewinds II in St Paul on Friday. They're a hole-in-the-wall sort of place,but I've used them for YEARS. Check them out at 838 Smith Ave S Saint Paul, MN 55107.651-290-2931. Tell them Steve Stenzel sent you.

Second trip to Ace Hardware. They mis-cut my glass the first time, so this nice man had to re-do it.This is their awesomely funky "employee only" workroom / storeroom in the basement.

Saturday morning: ready to mat in my studio.

Not only is a headlamp SUPER attractive, but it also reallyhelps to spot schmutz or streaks on the glass when framing.

From my Instagram: "Studio time with the boys at Grandmas.Matting and framing some pieces for an upcoming show."

Fine tuning some mats.

Four framed up, still needing the hanging hardware.

Sunday morning: putting on the hanging hardware before having to go pick up my boys.

I realized at the end of the weekend that I spent all those hours in my studio without any music or TV on. I guess that peace and quiet is a rare treat when you're usually hanging around with a 1 and 4-year-old.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

I'm getting ready for a show at the Soeffker Gallery at Hamline University. I recently made a few larger prints (16" x 25") from my 4 a.m. series for the show. Prior to this printing session, I think I'd only made 3 larger prints from that series. Earlier this week, I printed 7 to look at in the hopes of editing that down to 4 or 5 pieces for the exhibition.

Final edits.

The printer hadn't been used since before J-term, so there was a *bit* of a clogged nozzle problem.

Making prints.

Figuring out my mats.

Prints "drying" and flattening in my office.

I'll be spending the weekend matting and framing work. Back with an update soon.